Latest news with #AhmedabadCity
CBC
a day ago
- General
- CBC
Investigators search Air India crash site for evidence and more victims
Investigators searched the site of one of India's worst aviation disasters, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the lone surviving passenger Friday a day after an Air India plane split apart and fell from the sky, killing 241 people on board and several people on the ground. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel when it fell in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday. DNA testing was being conducted to identify bodies that were mostly charred beyond recognition. More victims are expected to be found in the search at the crash site. There was no information on whether the black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — had been recovered. The plane hit a building hosting a medical college hostel and burst into flames, killing several college students on the ground. Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. "We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words," Modi said on social media after visiting the site. "We understand their pain and also know that the void left behind will be felt for years to come." Modi meets lone survivor The survivor was seen in television footage meeting Modi at the government hospital where he was being treated for burns and other injuries. Viswashkumar Ramesh told India's national broadcaster he still can't believe he was alive. He said the aircraft seemed to become stuck immediately after takeoff. He said then the lights came on, and right after that it accelerated but seemed unable to gain height before it crashed. WATCH | Lone survivor walked from site to ambulance: Sole survivor walks away after fiery Air India crash kills hundreds 8 hours ago Duration 3:30 A fiery plane crash in western India has left a single surviving passenger, a British national, who reportedly walked from the site to an ambulance. The London-bound Air India Boeing 787 went down just after takeoff with 242 people aboard, including at least one Canadian. He said the side of the plane where he was seated fell onto the ground floor of a building and there was space for him to escape after the door broke open. He unfastened his seat belt and forced himself out of the plane. "When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive," he said. Investigation into the cause and identification of victims India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is investigating, and the U.S. participants in the probe are expected to include people from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric. Medics are conducting DNA tests to identify those killed, the president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, Akshay Dongardiv, said. Meanwhile, grieving families gathered outside the Civil hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday. Two doctors at the hospital said the bodies of four medical students killed on the ground after the plane crash were handed to their families. They said at least 30 other injured students were still admitted in the hospital and at least four of them were critical. Modi is scheduled to hold a meeting with senior officials later Friday. He also met some of those injured on the ground during the hospital visit. WATCH | 1st crash involving Boeing 787 Dreamliner: Boeing to support India's crash investigation, the 1st involving a 787 Dreamliner 6 hours ago Duration 1:56 Boeing has pledged to support the India-led investigation into the deadly air disaster in Ahmedabad — the first involving a 787 Dreamliner. Boeing has previously faced tough questions over several crashes and incidents involving its 737 Max aircraft. Thursday's Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. According to experts, there are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide, and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation. Eyewitness accounts describe damage Residents living in the vicinity, who were among the first to rush to the crash site and help with rescue, described the scale of damage like they had never seen. "In the beginning, I couldn't understand anything, it was only smoke everywhere. We could see some small parts (of the plane) burning," Indrajeet Singh Solanki said. Solanki said he and many others helped the injured people and rushed them to hospitals. "We had only one aim - to save lives no matter what happens," he said. The tragedy has left him shaken. "It will be hard to sleep for the next few days at least," Solanki said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Volunteer rescuers describe horror at India plane crash site
Volunteers who rushed to help after a passenger jet crashed into a residential neighbourhood of India's Ahmedabad city described Friday the intense fireball they faced -- and the challenge ahead to identify the bodies of at least 265 victims. Bharat Solanki, 51, was working at a fuel station when the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner -- carrying 242 passengers and crew -- took off from nearby Ahmedabad airport around lunchtime on Thursday. Less than a minute later it ploughed into a residential area, bursting into searing flames with what residents described as an ear-splitting blast. All but one aboard the plane was killed, and at least 24 others died on the ground. Solanki and a couple of friends rushed to the site. "We saw bodies everywhere -- they were in pieces, fully burnt," he said, recalling the horror of the scene. "We took out dead bodies", he said, adding that he also helped bring out those injured from the medical hostel and nearby buildings that the plane smashed into. "Everywhere just bodies, parts, body parts. The bodies were totally burnt. It was like coal." - 'Didn't get a chance' - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash site on Friday morning, called it a "scene of devastation". He was seen peering up at a fire-blackened multi-storey building with the plane's wheels and tail embedded in a wall. Authorities have set up DNA testing for relatives of passengers and those killed on the ground to identify the scorched bodies and body parts. It may be weeks before a final death toll is confirmed. Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking after visiting the crash site on Thursday, said the plane was carrying 125,000 litres (27,500 gallons) of fuel. The "temperature was so high that one didn't get a chance", he said. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members. Sona Prakash, who was close to the residential blocks of the medical accommodation, described how the "hostel was destroyed", adding that "so many doctors were injured, so many died". Another witness, 35-year-old labourer Patani, who uses only one name, said those around him thought a bomb had gone off before they realised it was a plane crash. "There was black smoke everywhere, plumes of smoke", added Vinod Bhai, another labourer. "The sky was only black, that's how much smoke was there." Forensic teams are searching for the black box flight recorders that will detail the last moments of the flight for crash investigators. ash/pjm/fox
The Guardian
a day ago
- General
- The Guardian
Air India disaster: rescue teams with sniffer dogs comb site of deadly plane crash
Rescue teams with sniffer dogs were combing the crash site of a London-bound passenger jet that ploughed into a residential area of India's Ahmedabad city, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground. One man aboard the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – carrying 242 passengers and crew – miraculously survived Thursday's crash, which left the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital. The nose and front wheel landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch, witnesses said. Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai said that 265 bodies had so far been counted – including people who died on the ground – but the toll may rise as more body parts are recovered. Ambulances containing empty wooden coffins for the bodies have been arriving at the hospital. 'The official number of deceased will be declared only after DNA testing is completed,' home minister Amit Shah said in a statement late on Thursday, adding that 'families whose relatives are abroad have already been informed, and their DNA samples will be taken.' The 242 people onboard included two pilots and 10 cabin crew. The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, according to Reuters. Of the passengers, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, Air India said. One of two black boxes has been found after an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, local newspaper Hindustan Times reported on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Friday visited the devastated neighbourhood where Air India flight 171 went down, earlier described the crash as 'heartbreaking beyond words'. Air India said the sole survivor from the plane – a British national of Indian origin who local media named as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh – was being treated in hospital. Footage filmed shortly after the crash showed Ramesh bloodied and limping as he walked to an ambulance. Police said he had been sitting in an emergency exit row and had managed to jump out. 'He said, 'I have no idea how I exited the plane'', his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told Press Association in Leicester. In Ahmedabad, relatives of passengers gathered on Friday at an emergency centre to give DNA samples so their loved ones could be identified. Ashfaque Nanabawa, 40, said he had come to find his cousin Akeel Nanabawa, who had been aboard with his wife and three-year-old daughter. They had spoken as his cousin sat in the plane, just before takeoff. 'He called us and he said: 'I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was OK'. That was his last call.' The plane crashed less than a minute after takeoff, around lunchtime on Thursday, after lifting barely 100 metres from the ground. It issued a mayday call and 'crashed immediately after takeoff', the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. Ahmedabad, the main city in India's Gujarat state, is home to around 8 million people and its busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas. 'One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,' said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name. Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood 'ready to support them' over the incident which, according to the Aviation Safety Network database, was the first crash for a Boeing 787. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts. Tata Group, the parent company of Air India, said it would provide 10m rupees (£86,000) to the families of those killed in the crash. The company said it would also cover the medical costs of those injured and provide support in the 'building up' of the medical college hit by the plane. India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people. In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board. Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday's crash. 'It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel,' said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth. 'The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.' The UK Foreign Office said officials were working with Indian authorities to establish the facts around the crash and provide support to those involved. Gatwick airport officials said a reception centre was being set up for relatives of the passengers.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Sniffer dogs, rescuers comb crash site of Air India Dreamliner that killed at least 265 in India
AHMEDABAD, June 13 — Rescue teams with sniffer dogs combed the crash site today of a London-bound passenger jet which ploughed into a residential area of India's Ahmedabad city, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground. One man aboard the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner—carrying 242 passengers and crew—miraculously survived Thursday's fiery crash, which left the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital. The nose and front wheel landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch, witnesses said. Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai said that 265 bodies had so far been counted—suggesting at least 24 people died on the ground—but the toll may rise as more body parts are recovered. 'The official number of deceased will be declared only after DNA testing is completed', Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement late Thursday, adding that 'families whose relatives are abroad have already been informed, and their DNA samples will be taken'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Friday visited the devastated neighbourhood where Air India flight 171 went down, earlier described the crash as 'heartbreaking beyond words'. The airline said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members. Air India said the sole survivor from the plane—a British national of Indian origin who local media named as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh—was being treated in hospital. 'He said, 'I have no idea how I exited the plane'', his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told Britain's Press Association in Leicester. Police stand guard near wreckage at the site after Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad today. — AFP pic Last call In Ahmedabad, disconsolate relatives of passengers gathered Friday at an emergency centre to give DNA samples so their loved ones could be identified. Ashfaque Nanabawa, 40, said he had come to find his cousin Akeel Nanabawa, who had been aboard with his wife and three-year-old daughter. They had spoken as his cousin sat in the plane, just before takeoff. 'He called us and he said: 'I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was okay'. That was his last call.' One woman, too grief-stricken to give her name, said her son-in-law had been killed. 'My daughter doesn't know that he's no more', she said, wiping away tears. 'I can't break the news to her, can someone else do that please?' The plane crashed less than a minute after takeoff, around lunchtime Thursday, after lifting barely 100 metres from the ground. The plane issued a mayday call and 'crashed immediately after takeoff', the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. Ahmedabad, the main city in India's Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and its busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas. 'One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,' said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name. US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood 'ready to support them' over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were dispatching teams to support their Indian counterparts. Tata Group, owners of Air India, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to 'the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy', as well as funds to cover medical expenses of those injured. Rapid growth India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people. In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board. Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday's crash. 'It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel,' said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth. 'The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.' India's airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it 'nothing short of phenomenal'. The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world's fourth-largest air market—domestic and international—with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade. — AFP
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- General
- Khaleej Times
Lone passenger survives Air India plane crash with 242 on board
[Editor's Note: Follow KT's live blog for all the latest updates on the Ahmedabad plane crash.] A London-bound passenger plane crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday leaving one known survivor from 242 on board, with the jet smashing into buildings housing doctors and their families. While everyone aboard the flight was initially feared killed, state health official Dhananjay Dwivedi told AFP "one survivor is confirmed" and had been hospitalised. Indian media also reported a British national as the sole survivor of the crash. A widely circulated video showed an injured man limping toward a parked ambulance. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik also told news agency ANI that there was one survivor, who had been seated in 11A on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. According to the flight manifest, the passenger in seat 11A was Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. Talking to the media while in the hospital, Vishwash shared his boarding pass, which showed his name and seat number 11A. An AFP journalist saw bodies being recovered from the crash site, and the back of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner hanging over the edge of a building it hit around lunchtime. "The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India's flight 171 crashed following takeoff. The bodies of passengers and victims on the ground were among 204 recovered so far, city police commissioner GS Malik said, while medics were treating dozens who were injured in the city. The AFP journalist saw a building ablaze after the crash, with thick black smoke billowing into the air, and a section of the plane on the ground. "One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families," said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name. "The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch," he said. Krishna said he saw "about 15 to 20 burnt bodies", while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students. India's civil aviation authority said there were 242 people aboard, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London's Gatwick airport. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were "devastating", while the country's King Charles III said he was "desperately shocked". 'Devastating' The plane issued a mayday call and "crashed immediately after takeoff", the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said. Ahmedabad, the main city of India's Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas. "When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames," resident Poonam Patni told AFP. "Many of the bodies were burned," she said. The AFP journalist saw medics using a cart to load bodies into an ambulance, while a charred metal bed frame stood surrounded by burnt wreckage. The plane came down in an area between a hospital and the city's Ghoda Camp neighbourhood. The airport was shut, with all flights "suspended until further notice", its operator said. US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood "ready to support them" over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were each dispatching teams to support their Indian counterparts. The airline's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said an emergency centre had been set up with a support team for families seeking information. Tata Group, owners of Air India, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to "the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy", as well as promising to cover the medical expenses of those injured. India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people. In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board. Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday's crash. "It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel," said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth. "The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike." India's airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it "nothing short of phenomenal". The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world's fourth-largest air market -- domestic and international -- with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.
